'Legacy fight': Sean Garcia returns to the ring against the son of a boxing legend

Sean Garcia’s fight against the son of a boxing legend has been seven years in the making.

Garcia’s biggest fight of his career is set for Saturday as the Victorville native takes on Amado Vargas as part of an undercard bout on a marquee fight card.

Both Garcia and Vargas — one of three sons of Fernando Vargas that are currently boxers — are 23-year-old unbeaten prospects in the sport.

“I’m ready to show out. On Saturday night, I’m ready to get down to business. I’m here to end the Vargas dynasty. I’m here to fight and I’m here to knock him out,” Garcia said during a press conference leading up to the fight.

The pair of fighters are also no strangers to each other.

Garcia grew up in Victorville, climbing the amateur boxing ranks alongside his older brother Ryan Garcia. In one of his final amateur boxing matches as a 16-year-old, Garcia took on Vargas, and lost.

At the time, Garcia said he had no business losing to Vargas, who wasn’t quite as skilled as he thought.

More: Victorville's Ryan Garcia suspended for one year, victory over Haney ruled no-contest

A week later, the pair fought again. That time, Garcia was motivated to beat Vargas and he scored a unanimous decision at a World Boxing Council’s Green Belt tournament in Whittier.

That first loss to Vargas taught Garcia a valuable lesson in the fight — do not take any opponent for granted.

“I told him you can’t be doing that. He knew that but I just kind of had to remind him how to be humble and give it your all once in the ring no matter what,” his father and trainer Henry Garcia said at the time.

Much has changed since then, as both pugilists have seen their careers take different paths. Shortly after beating Vargas, Garcia became a professional boxer as a 17-year-old.

But he hasn’t been as active in the ring with a record of 7-0, with two victories by knockout. His last bout was a unanimous decision over Joseph Johnson in December.

Vargas didn’t join the professional ranks until he was 20 years old. Vargas is currently 10-0, with four knockout victories.

“This fight is only going to make me look better,” Vargas said. “It’s going to help give me credit as a boxer that I am. This is a legacy fight. His brother has his legacy, my dad has his own legacy. We’re going to create our own names through this fight so I’m excited.”

Respect out the window

Part of being a boxer is knowing when to flip the switch and go from businessman to meaning business in the ring.

The two fighters have displayed good sportsmanship leading up to the fight, and complemented each other’s abilities in the ring.

Last month, Garcia’s mother, Lisa, shared that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. There were talks of Garcia withdrawing from the fight.

Vargas told reporters at the press conference that he called Garcia and asked him to be honest and let him know if there were plans to back out of the fight.

Garcia gave Vargas his word.

“He is showing a lot of respect to me, but come Saturday he’s not going to show me any respect and I’m not either,” Garcia said. “The energy is up now this close to the fight. Both of us and our teams are pumped up. I’m saying that real. We have eight rounds to settle this.”

Vargas is just as eager to get in the ring.

“I’ve been ready for this fight. I want to thank Sean for taking the opportunity. We both have a job to do and that’s what is gonna happen on Saturday night,” Vargas said. “This is gonna be a great show and I can’t wait to perform. I’m extremely ready to put on a great performance that’s gonna grab everyone’s attention. All the training is gonna be worth it. The talking is all fun, but Saturday, we get to the real thing.”

The fight card

Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal will meet for a second time on Saturday night, nearly five years after their first encounter at UFC 244, for the inaugural BMF championship. Masvidal earned the victory after a cut over Diaz’s eye forced the doctor to stop the fight.

Saturday night’s bout, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, will not take place in a cage and will be a boxing match as the main event.

Also on the undercard, is Shane Mosley Jr. taking on former world titlist Daniel Jacobs, along with former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis squaring off against Chris Avila.

The fight card is set to begin at 6 p.m., on pay-per-view through Fanmio, DAZN and UFC Fight Pass. The main event is expected to begin around 9 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: 'Legacy fight': Sean Garcia returns to the ring against the son of a boxing legend